Adding "Run as a Different User" Option to Apps in Windows 10

By making a simple registry modification you can enable the ability to run apps under a specific user account in Windows 10.

Rod Trent

February 8, 2016

1 Min Read
Adding "Run as a Different User" Option to Apps in Windows 10

So, you probably already know about the option to right-click on an application in Windows 10 and being able to choose “Run as Administrator.” But, what if you want to run as a different user entirely?

With a quick registry edit, you can add the following “Run as a different user” command line to Windows 10 apps. This doesn’t work for Windows Universal Apps, just apps that are executed with a .exe extension (example: Microsoft Word). Microsoft considers these types of app as legacy apps.

Registry key path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftWindowsExplorer

Registry value: ShowRunasDifferentuserinStart (DWORD value)

Registry value data: 1 (hexadecimal)

remediation run as different user-1.png

remediation-run-as-different-user-1

After applying the registry modification, you’ll need to reboot the PC. After reboot the “Run as a different user” option will be available from the right-click menu…

remediation-run-as-different-user-2.png

remediation-run-as-different-user-2

When you click to use the “Run as a different user” option, you’ll be prompted for alternate credentials…

remediation-run-as-different-user-3.png

remediation-run-as-different-user-3

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